The Great Clans Don’t Have Heads? (5)
Watching Baek Cheon step up onto the arena, Hyun Jong clenched his fist beneath his sleeve.
Baek Cheon.
At once, every muscle in his body tightened.
Was he afraid Baek Cheon might lose?
No, that wasn’t it.
Hyun Jong trusted him more than anyone else. If Chung Myung was a lump of fortune that had rolled into Mount Hua by sheer luck, then Baek Cheon was nothing less than the essence of Mount Hua itself, painstakingly forged through blood and effort.
If Chung Myung was the kind of precious child you could only love more even if you put him in your eyes, then Baek Cheon was like a son he had raised so carefully that he worried he might blow away in the wind or shatter at the lightest touch.
So of course he would be tense.
"That boy is Mount Hua's Great Disciple?"
"Yes. He is the greatest among the Baek Generation."
"Then he must be the highest-ranking disciple among those taking part in this martial competition."
"Indeed."
No further words were spoken.
Only the others, now watching Baek Cheon with far more caution than before, stood out to Hyun Jong's eyes.
Today's atmosphere is completely different from yesterday's.
Yesterday, at least, there had still been some polite exchanges, each side trying to preserve face with a few well-worn words of courtesy. But after Chung Myung's display, Mount Hua had continued to rack up victories, and the mood had gradually grown colder until now there was a distinct chill hanging in the air.
What are they so afraid of?
Hyun Jong bit down hard on his lip, his face stiffening.
Were they afraid of losing face?
Or were they afraid that the balance of power they had so painstakingly secured between the Nine Sects and One Gang and the Five Great Families would be broken?
He is only a second-generation disciple.
If this had been a true contest where first-generation disciples and elders stepped forward to fight, he would have understood their reaction a hundred times over.
But to see them react so grimly to the performances of children who could not even yet be called the true strength of their sects was deeply disappointing.
These are the people said to lead the world?
As Hyun Jong struggled to hide his disappointment, he suddenly let out a deep sigh, as if he had realized something.
No. No, that isn't right. I was the one who was wrong.
They were not the ones who were mistaken.
He was.
If two sects possessed equal ability and skill, and one of those sects was led by him as sect leader, which of them would develop more?
Hyun Jong, who always yielded rather than competed, would undoubtedly be stripped of everything and end by driving his sect into ruin.
Wasn't I told to beware of envy?
Looking at the broad back of Beop Jeong, the Shaolin abbot seated ahead of them, Hyun Jong gave a small nod.
The Abbot saw this already.
Of course, a kindly man could still be a good sect leader.
But one who cried only of righteousness and failed to protect what was his would eventually lose it all.
To defend something, one had to become ruthless.
Only after he understood that the others' actions, however petty and unbecoming they might seem, had arisen solely from a desire to protect their own sects did a coldness enter Hyun Jong's eyes.
I must become even more ruthless too.
So that he could protect those children.
So that he would never stand in the way of their path.
From the reactions of the sect leaders, Hyun Jong learned yet another thing.
"Isn't Baek Cheon the boy who defeated Wudang's Geomryong? I hear he's no longer called Geomryong, but one of the other Five Dragons now. Baek Dragon, was it?"
At those words, Heo Do, the Wudang sect leader, smiled faintly.
"Our child has been in his debt. But I am, in fact, the one who is grateful to that boy. Jin Hyeon has been training with such single-minded dedication ever since that day that he has forgotten even to sleep and eat. The boy who once relied only on his talent has now added effort to it as well, so I am eager to see what kind of future awaits him."
"Ha ha. Then that is a good thing."
"I should think so."
Heo Do-jin-in looked casually toward Hyun Jong, still smiling.
"The outcome of the next contest will be a little different from the last. It would be fine if the two could meet again in this tournament."
If this had been the old Hyun Jong, he would have answered with words of modesty and then praised his opponent in due measure.
But now he understood.
He might lower himself if he wished, but he must never lower Mount Hua.
He himself could be called petty, narrow-minded, and all the rest if necessary, but those children could not be diminished by even a single inch.
That was what a sect leader had to do.
"If Wudang's Geomryong has gained some accomplishment, then congratulations are in order. But…"
Hyun Jong wore a kind, easy smile.
"Baek Cheon's talent is enough to astonish even me. I find it hard to imagine that boy losing again to an opponent he has already defeated once."
Heo Do-jin-in looked at him with slight surprise.
"Ha ha ha. It seems yesterday's results have given the Sect Leader great confidence."
"Not at all. How could an inevitable result become confidence? What gave me confidence was not the outcome, but the skill of those children."
The area around them went silent in an instant.
Heo Do-jin-in stared at Hyun Jong in silence, and just as he seemed about to speak, a rough voice suddenly cut in from the side.
"If you want to talk about that connection, you'll have to beat my grandson first!"
Their gazes turned toward the source of the voice.
Peng Hwaso, the head of the Hebei Peng Family, was glaring at them with a displeased expression.
Realizing that Baek Cheon's opponent on the arena was a man from the Hebei Peng Family, Heo Do-jin-in and Hyun Jong both looked slightly embarrassed.
"Forgive me, Family Head."
"I was thoughtless."
"Hmph!"
Snorting loudly, Peng Hwaso folded his arms and thundered, "Our Do-wan may not be the most famous boy around, but his skill is second to none! So keep your eyes wide open and watch closely!"
Heo Do-jin-in said nothing in reply and remained silent. Hyun Jong, meanwhile, looked at Peng Hwaso as the man struggled to suppress his temper.
Even the head of the Hebei Peng Family shields his own child like that, and yet I was putting my own face above those children?
With a heart full of guilt, he silently sent Baek Cheon a fervent word of support.
Baek Cheon. Win.
His hands were lightly clasped together, and within his eyes there was both trust and worry.
Lightly.
Baek Cheon flexed the hand gripping his sword, tightening and loosening his fingers again and again.
I see what those bastards meant.
His opponent was named Peng Do-wan of the Hebei Peng Family.
He had never really heard the name before, but if the man had been chosen to represent the Hebei Peng Family, then he was surely one of the few true talents in the whole world.
And yet Baek Cheon felt no threat from him whatsoever.
What he did feel was only the steady beat of his own heart.
And Hyun Jong's gaze from above, fixed on him from the stands.
Sect Leader.
The old Baek Cheon had been a man who thought only of his own growth. But after meeting Chung Myung, and going through so many changes, he had come to understand something he had never truly grasped before.
How great and admirable the sect leader had been, accepting Baek Cheon without a single question, even knowing exactly what his background was.
I will make Mount Hua the greatest sect.
In other words, he would make Mount Hua's sect leader the highest person in all the Central Plains. To do that, he had to defeat the man standing before him now.
Baek Cheon looked across at Peng Do-wan with eyes free of the slightest hesitation.
But Peng Do-wan seemed to take that look as a provocation.
"You've got a pretty arrogant look about you."
He rested the large dao in his hand threateningly on his shoulder.
"Did you lose your nerve because you made a bit of a splash yesterday?"
Watching him launch into a provocation without warning, Baek Cheon let out a sigh.
Why is my opponent always some idiot like this?
It would be better if he could at least have a worthy opponent for once.
Baek Cheon answered lazily, "Not particularly. I'm still a little scared, actually."
"Hahaha! Your mouth's as polished as your face."
"…"
Realizing that no matter what he said he would not hear anything pleasant, Baek Cheon tightened his grip on his sword.
"If you're not here to fight with words, then let's get started."
"No, no. I was thinking I'd give you a chance first."
"A chance?"
Peng Do-wan laughed heartily.
"If you surrender right now and go back down, that pretty face of yours won't have to get hurt. I get annoyed just looking at soft pretty boys like you."
"…Pretty boy?"
"Mount Hua may have had a bit of luck lately, but that's only because you haven't met the real thing. Unfortunately for you, I'm not like the riffraff Mount Hua has fought so far. If you don't want to be made a fool of, you'd better go down now."
"…Thank you for the advice."
Baek Cheon tilted his head from side to side.
Sitting and watching, Yoon Jong squeezed his eyes shut.
"Even that's starting to resemble him now."
"Just accept it, Sahyung. It's too late to turn back now."
"…Do human hearts work like that?"
Watching their martial uncle become more and more like Chung Myung by the day, Yoon Jong and Jo Gul swallowed their tears.
What had become of the martial uncle they had once respected so deeply, the one who understood loyalty and the Way?
Ah, they still respected him, of course. They did.
The problem was that the feeling of that respect had changed a little, that was all.
Peng Do-wan continued with a sneer.
"So even now…"
"Ah, enough."
"Hmm?"
Baek Cheon let out a tired little sigh.
"If you're done, then come at me. It's getting boring."
"…What?"
Peng Do-wan lowered the dao from his shoulder and pointed it straight at Baek Cheon.
"You think that just because you've had a little luck, you're strong? Then let me make this perfectly clear. A sect like Mount Hua, which already had its head cut off once, will never be able to stand against the power of a true prestigious sect!"
At that arrogant remark, Baek Cheon snorted.
"Prestigious sect?"
"That's right."
Then, scratching the back of his head twice, he said with an indifferent expression, "If a guy I know well heard that, he'd definitely say this."
"…What?"
"Do prestigious sects not have heads?"
"…"
Baek Cheon extended his sword straight out and pointed it at Peng Do-wan.
"Come on. I'll smash the head of your so-called prestigious sect for you."
Peng Do-wan's face turned bright red in an instant. His expression went from red to purple in the blink of an eye, and he ground his teeth.
"You arrogant little bastard!"
And at last, clutching his dao tightly, he charged at Baek Cheon like an enraged bull.
"I'll teach you some manners!"
"Tsk."
Baek Cheon narrowed his eyes.
The man was absurdly foolish, but as expected of someone from the Hebei Peng Family, the immense pressure rolling off him was no joke at all.
But…
So this is how it felt.
He finally understood what Chung Myung must have felt back when Baek Cheon had said he would teach Chung Myung manners. Thinking of it made his own face grow hot.
Those who could not free themselves from the hollow prestige of a “prestigious sect” believed that their background was the same as their own strength.
Baek Cheon, too, had only learned the truth after Chung Myung had smashed his head open, so to speak.
In that case?
The corner of Baek Cheon's mouth lifted slightly.
"I don't really want to do you a favor."
"What nonsense are you spouting!"
Peng Do-wan leaped like a flying tiger and brought his dao down toward the crown of Baek Cheon's head.
It was one of the secret techniques that the Hebei Peng Family proudly boasted to the world: the Flying Tiger Slays the Rabbit form of the Five Tigers Severing the Gate Dao.
The dao, wrapped in fierce red blade qi, came crashing down on Baek Cheon with overwhelming force.
At the same time, Peng Do-wan maintained his composure and tracked Baek Cheon's movements.
Dodging won't help!
Any idiot who tried to meet Flying Tiger Slays the Rabbit head-on would have nothing to say even if he were split in two and killed. Any thinking man would dodge.
Whichever way he dodged, the instant he lost his momentum he would never be able to withstand the dao.
Then, with a follow-up chain attack, he would seize the initiative in an instant and carve a scar across that damned face of his…
That was when it happened.
Baek Cheon, who had been staring at the dao descending toward him, drew back the sword in his hand just a little. Then, with terrifying force, he swung it straight toward Peng Do-wan's blade.
W-What the hell?
Peng Do-wan's eyes flew wide open.
He was going to block a massive descending dao with that thin little sword?
Even a three-year-old child would know that made no sense.
Fine! Don't blame me for this!
Gnashing his teeth, Peng Do-wan drove every last bit of his energy into the falling dao.
At last, his blade and Baek Cheon's sword collided head-on!
Kwaaaang!
A deafening explosion tore through the air, and one of the two men was blasted backward, tumbling across the ground.
"T-That…!"
"No way!"
Gasps erupted from the spectators watching the match.
By all logic, by body size and weapon weight alike, Baek Cheon should have been the one sent flying.
Instead, the one rolling across the floor was Peng Do-wan.
"Kh, keugh…?"
Still sprawled on the ground, he strained to lift his head and look at Baek Cheon. It seemed he did not even have the luxury of hiding his shock.
"Tsk."
Baek Cheon gave his sword a light flick and walked slowly toward him.
Unlike Peng Do-wan, whose arm had cracked and whose muscles had been shredded to pieces from a single impact, Baek Cheon showed no visible injury at all.
He finally stopped in front of Peng Do-wan and clicked his tongue.
"Hey, you."
Then he offered sincere advice.
"You should work out."
"…"
"If you're that weak, you wouldn't even be able to carry water buckets on Mount Hua."
Peng Do-wan's jaw dropped.
Weak?
Me?
His gaze dropped to his own forearm.
As befit a descendant of the Peng Family, known for their massive build, his forearm was as thick as another man's waist. His frame was large enough to make even a bear call him elder brother and bow its head.
And he was weak?
Seeing that Peng Do-wan could not make sense of it, Baek Cheon sighed and rolled up his sleeve.
His corded muscles were exposed. Muscles forged by truly hellish training.
Gritting his teeth, Peng Do-wan slowly forced himself back to his feet.
"Y-You damn— where do you think you're going…."
"Oh? Damn bastard? Good. That's much more comfortable."
"Huh?"
Baek Cheon reversed his grip on the sword and brought the back of the blade down squarely on Peng Do-wan's head.
Crack!
It sounded like a ripe watermelon splitting open.
Peng Do-wan's mouth flew open, and he froze in place.
"Head! Head! Head! Head! Head!"
Crack! Crack! Crack! Crack! Crack!
After five strikes, Peng Do-wan, frothing at the mouth, collapsed where he stood.
Glancing once at the man crumpled on the ground, Baek Cheon shoved his sword back into its scabbard and turned away without a hint of hesitation.
But after taking only a few steps, he suddenly halted, as if he had forgotten something.
Then his face twisted in genuine regret.
"Ah! I should've hit him one more time!"
Five times you shout it, and six times you beat him—that's when it really hurts!
"Tch!"
Still needs to learn more.
Tsk.